Bully
by Kavella
Summary: Vital information is being stored at a school on Lothal, and Sabine and Ezra have to go undercover to get it. While Sabine is eager to show her brilliance, Ezra could not shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happens when Ezra attracts the attention of the school bully. Needless to say, the mission would not go as planned.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I'm so excited to share this story with you. I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 1 - A Bad Feeling**

Ezra did not like the mission plan.

He had voiced his concerns multiple times to the crew, but they did not listen to him. They had said that it was going to be fine, and that he had nothing to worry about. But Ezra had a very bad feeling about this mission. He wanted to tell them, but they would just say that he was worrying too much. So reluctantly, he had been forced to go along.

Kanan had heard rumors about a school on Lothal where vital information was being held on the Empire's plan for the young children of the , the information was being stored deep in the basement of a school on Lothal. It would have to be an inside job.

And that's where Sabine and Ezra came in. They would enroll in the school, find the plans, and then get out. It seemed easy enough, but Ezra was afraid for multiple reasons. And not just because of his bad feeling.

He had stopped going to school when he was seven, after the Empire had torn his world from under his feet, forcing him to live alone and in fear. He had not been to school for about eight years and now the crew wanted him to walk right in and everything would go just fine. But he could not admit this to them, but Ezra Bridger could not read very well. He was going to look like a moron in school, unlike Sabine. Ezra knew that she was highly educated; she would have no problem fitting in. She might even have fun.

But Ezra knew that he would not.

A knock on the door broke Ezra from his thoughts as he sat up on his bunk. In the door frame stood Kanan, his arm supporting his leaning body on the door frame.

"You ready, Ezra?"

"Yeah, sure." Ezra jumped off his bunk and detached his lightsaber from his belt. He walked up to Kanan and handed it to him. "Make sure Chopper doesn't take it, I don't want him to blow up the ship while I'm gone." Ezra saw Kanan smirk a little, as he accepted the lightsaber.

"Listen, Ezra, I know you don't necessarily like the mission," Kanan said, and he was about to continue before Ezra interrupted him.

"That's an understatement." He heard Kanan let out a small sigh.

"But we have to do this. The information could be of value in taking out the Empire."

"I know, Kanan."

"Then why are you hesitant?" Kanan asked, looking at his padawan with concern.

"It's just-" Ezra stopped himself, looking up at his master. He looked at Kanan and saw him look confused.

"It's just what? Is it something with the force?"

_Blast it_, Ezra thought. Kanan could always see right through him, which bothered the teen to no end.

"It's nothing, Kanan," Ezra said, deciding not to tell him about the feeling he could not shake. Kanan gave Ezra a questioning look, before speaking up.

"Alright then. Get dressed." Kanan walked out, leaving Ezra to be alone with his self-doubt. Kanan always told him to trust his instincts, having it to do something with the force, but Ezra brushed it off as nervousness. Deep down he knew it was more than that.

He knew something was going to go wrong.

Sighing, he looked over at the school uniform lying on the small container in his room. It consisted of a white collared shirt and grey slacks, along with a grey tie. Ezra wrinkled his nose in disgust. He was _definitely _not going to like this mission.

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R & R

~ Kavella ~


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! I'm so excited to share this story with you. I hope you like this chapter!

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**Chapter 2 - ****Glare**

As it turned out, Sabine had the same thoughts about the uniform as Ezra did.

"It's just so _bland!_" Sabine said to Kanan, who was walking with them to their school. He had taken off his armor and his weapon belt in an attempt to blend in.

"I know, Sabine, but it's only temporary." Ezra could not see Sabine's face, but he knew she was rolling her eyes at Kanan as she continued on protesting.

Ezra walked a little behind them, dreading what was about to happen. He was going to go to school. He had not been to school since his parents had been around. Ezra took a deep breath, trying to remove the memory of them from his thoughts. It would just feel _weird_ going here, when he had no parents. It felt unnatural.

"Ezra?" He glanced up to see Kanan looking at him. "We're here." Ezra looked over at the school building. It was about two stories high, and as bland as the uniforms. He saw Sabine already walking inside, and was about to rush after her before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" Kanan asked, looking down at Ezra.

"I'm fine." Ezra steadied his breathing. The last thing he needed was to start to show emotions on the first day. He shrugged Kanan's hand off of his shoulder and joined Sabine.

They walked down the hallways, which seemed much larger than necessary to Ezra, and they came upon classroom 10B.

"Alright, Ezra. This is your class. I'll be in 11A. Have fun!" Sabine said, as she started to walk quickly to her class, eager to show off her knowledge. Ezra looked back up at the door. He was thinking the exact opposite of Sabine. Mustering his strength, he opened the door and stepped inside.

He stood before the class of teenagers his age, all wearing the same bland uniform.

"Would you like to introduce yourself?" The old teacher spoke with a toneless voice.

"Umm… My name's Dev Morgan."

"Thank you, Dev Morgan. Please take your seat." The teacher turned back to the board and started talking again, his toneless voice echoing through the silent room. Ezra slid into a desk near the back, the only one empty, next to another boy. Ezra glanced over at him and the boy gave him a glare. Ezra quickly looked back at the board. He did not want to attract attention to himself.

Now he just had to make it to lunch when Sabine and him could sneak into the basement and snatch the plans. He just hoped the teacher would not call on him, since he could barely understand what was written on the board.

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><p>Sabine walked into her classroom, and the teacher asked her to introduce herself. Confidently, Sabine stood in front of the crowd of kids who wore the same bland colors as the school building.<p>

"I'm Monet." A smile formed on her face. Academically, they were all about to be crushed. She took her seat in the second row, and took out the notebook she had snuck in, even though she knew she would not have to use it.

The teacher began to lecture, and she turned to the class to ask a question. "Can anyone tell me about the Confederacy of Independent Systems?" Sabine smiled when the teacher looked confused at the new girl raising her hand.

"Uh, yes…Monet?"

"The government and separatist movement led by Darth Sidious and his apprentice Count Duko, which left the Galactic Republic because of the debate over the taxation and corruption. This soon led to the war."

Sabine could feel all of the eyes look over at her, and this just made her smile more.

"..yes, exactly. Excellent, Monet." Astounded, the teacher turned back to the board to continue lecturing. Sabine looked down to her notebook and began sketching, only half listening to the lecture but still answering all of the questions correctly.

Sabine was loving being in the spotlight. It was quite a change from her normal routine.

"Whoa, that's really cool." The whisper drew Sabine from her thoughts, and she looked over at the source of it. The girl sitting next to her had blond hair tied loosely in a side braid.

"Thanks." Sabine replied, proud of her artwork. She almost went back to drawing before she glanced over at the girl's desk. She was drawing a picture of a flower on her notes. "Whoa, that looks really cool, like that one artist drew."

"He's my inspiration!" The girl replied in a hushed yell.

"Same here!" Sabine replied, excited that someone understood her art.

"My name's Aida by the way. Do you want to sit with me at lunch today?"

"Sure!" Sabine replied, already looking forward to being able to talk about her favorite subject to someone who understood it. A few minutes could not hurt the mission, could it?

* * *

><p>"Dev? What is the answer?" <em>Blast it.<em> He had hoped, but it had not worked. He had not been paying attention to a word the man had said; it was giving him a headache. Ezra looked up at the board, hoping to maybe this time understand the words. Unfortunately he was not successful.

"Umm…what was the question?" Ezra winced as the class let out a laugh, and the teacher did not look pleased.

"Who manufactured the TIE fighters?"

Ezra had no idea.

"Umm…the Empire?" The class let out another giggle. So much for not bringing any attention to himself.

"Could you be any more specific?" The teacher asked again, more annoyed that Ezra thought was possible.

"Uhh… the pilots?"

"Not. Even. Close. Can anyone else tell me?"

"Raith Sienar," someone from the class blurted out.

"Yes." The teacher looked at Ezra as he spoke, which made him sink lower into his seat. "Raith Sienar was an engineer…"

Ezra zoned out again, not wanting to strain his brain any more. He thought force headaches were bad, but he had never been border in his entire life. He wanted to get this over with. He glanced up at the boy who sat next to him and confirmed his suspicion. The brown haired boy was still giving him the death glare.

And Ezra did not want to stick around to find out why.

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R & R

~ Kavella ~


	3. Chapter 3

Hello! I'm super excited for this story; I've written a lot more of it, and I can't wait to share it. I hope you like this chapter!

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**Chapter 3 – Struck a Nerve**

As soon as the lunch bell rang, Ezra shot out of his seat and out of the class. The boy, whose name was Rolf as Ezra had found out, had started to fling things at him. First it was pieces of paper, but it gradually turned into pencils and pens. Ezra had to keep his cool to make sure he did not accidentally use the force. He had no clue why the boy had chosen him to be his next play thing, but he knew how to avoid people, which was what he was attempting to do as he made his way to the cafeteria.

When he got there, he almost immediately spotted Sabine with her streaks of color in her hair. He walked over to see that she was at a table with another girl with blonde hair. He walked up to Sabine and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yes?" She asked, as if she did not know.

"Uh, Monet. I thought we were going to eat _together_?" Ezra asked, hinting at the fact that they needed to get the plans.

"Who is this?" The other girl asked, looking at Ezra.

"Aida, this is my…younger brother, Dev."

"Hello, Dev." Aida said, smiling at Ezra.

"Yeah, hi, whatever. Sabine, could I talk to you in private?" Ezra asked.

"Okay. I'll be right back." Sabine got up and Ezra followed her into the corner of the cafeteria where they were somewhat in private.

"What are you doing? We need to hurry up and get the plans."

"Oh, relax. We have time. Besides, Aida is totally an art lover. She understands my perspective."

"Sabine, we don't have time for this." Ezra protested further, not wanting to go back into the classroom anytime soon.

"You're overreacting. Go to the basement door and I'll meet you there in five minutes, tops," Sabine said.

"This is not a good idea."

"Need I remind you that Kanan said that _I_ have point on this mission?" Ezra grunted at Sabine's stubbornness, and turned away from her and walked away towards the door. He looked back and saw her go back to the table with Aida, and they did seem to be having a deep conversation. But that gave Sabine no reason to jeopardize the mission like this.

Ezra reached for the door. Deciding not to go in the basement yet, he leaned against the wall. A few minutes passed by and Ezra was growing impatient. He looked again down the hall, but who he saw coming left a sinking feeling in his stomach.

This could not end well.

* * *

><p>Down the hall came Roth, with a few followers. He instantly spotted him and a grin formed on his face.<p>

Ezra knew where this was going. He began to raise his mental shields in order to attempt to calm himself. He was going to need it.

Roth approached him. "Hey, stupid. What do you think you're doing here?"

"That's none of your business," Ezra stated, his face in a neutral position.

"Actually, I think it is." Roth grabbed Ezra's collar and pulled him off the wall. Ezra stumbled but stopped himself from falling, and turned back to face Roth. "What's the matter, stupid?" he mocked, shoving Ezra again while the boys behind him snickered.

"Hey! What's your problem with me?" Ezra asked, standing his ground against the bully.

"That's none of your business," he said in a mocking voice. "What did I say, guys? He's so stupid." The shouts of the bully had attracted the unwanted attention of other students, who seemed to stop and watch what was going on. Nervously, Ezra continued to stand up.

"Don't be a jerk." Ezra stood up straight, but Roth continued on.

"You know what? He's right guys. _I_ wouldn't want to waste my time on this poor, stupid loth-rat."

That stuck a nerve.

As soon as the words had left Roth's mouth, Ezra had whipped around and pounced on top of Roth, using his weight to push him to the ground. He threw punches left and right blindly, before he was overpowered by the bully. He was tossed aside and slid a little on the floor before scrambling up. Roth quickly punched him in the stomach and across the face before Ezra regained his balance. Roth threw another punch aimed at his side.

Ezra quickly slid out of the way of the Roth's punch and grabbed his arm. The look on his face was priceless. Ezra spun his body and flung Roth into the wall.

"What is going on here?" Ezra froze in his tracks, as did his attacker, as a teacher broke into the ring of students, who were fleeing away. Ezra looked around and saw his teacher standing at the scene, not looking pleased. But over the teacher's shoulder he saw Sabine, who had a look of shock on her face.

"You're coming with me to the office." The teacher rushed over and grabbed Ezra's forearm, as well as Roth's and began marching towards the office. Ezra looked back at Sabine, who had changed from a shocked look to a disappointed look. Why she was disappointed Ezra did not know. The fight was her fault anyway. If she had shown up earlier, he would not be in this mess. Ezra sighed as he was dragged off to the office.

* * *

><p>Sabine was deep in a conversation about art when she noticed something was off. There was a mass of teens running down the hallway that Ezra had gone through earlier. Something was up.<p>

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Sabine asked the blonde-haired girl she was sitting next to.

"Probably some fight; it's best to stay out of them."

"I'm going to check it out. I'll be right back," Sabine said. She stood up and followed the flow of the teenagers to the source. She hoped Ezra had not gotten into trouble.

But like he always said, it did find him. So when she saw that Ezra was in the middle of the ring of teenagers, she was not too surprised. She saw Ezra slide out of the way of the other kid's punch, and flinging him across the hall. Sabine knew that this could not end well. All of the attention Ezra was drawing would not allow them to be able to complete their mission.

"What do you think you're doing here?"

A voice rang out from the shouts of the now fleeing teens, and the teacher who it came from quickly dragged the fighters off. Sabine and Ezra made eye contact, and she was upset at Ezra from screwing up the mission. As least, that's what she wanted him to think. She was actually sort of happy that she got to come back to the school for another day. Sabine turned back and walked towards the cafeteria, a slight smile on her face.

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R & R

~ Kavella ~


	4. Chapter 4

Hello!

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**Chapter 4 - Haircut**

Kanan was not happy.

He sat in the principal's office in a wooden chair, across from the principal himself. He was a typical Empire loyalist, wearing formal clothing with not a single strand out of place.

"We just wanted to inform you so a proper punishment could be carried out."

And that led Kanan to the reason _why_ he had to sit in the humid office listening to a loyalist drone on and on about what Ezra had done. Honestly, he could not blame him. He wanted to fight this man as well. He glanced over at Ezra, who was slumped in the chair next to him.

"Oh, yes. Rest assured, I will make sure that this does _not_ happen again," Kanan glanced over at Ezra, trying his best to look disappointed. He was slightly, but he was more annoyed that something had distracted them from the mission.

"But that's not fair. The other kid started it, and he's not in trouble!" Ezra exclaimed, obviously still upset about what was happening. And he was not wrong. Kanan had seen the way the teen had smirked at Ezra as he walked out, and muttered something under his breath to him.

"That was not how Roth had told the story." Knowing the principle was losing patience, and knowing that Ezra would not let it slide, Kanan quickly butted in.

"Yes, Sir, we understand. If you don't mind, I'd like to take Dev home now." Kanan heard the grumble from Ezra.

"Certainly. And how about getting the kid a haircut, he seems to need one. Now leave." The man waved him off and it took all of Kanan's willpower to walk away. It also seemed to take all of Ezra's, considering Kanan almost had to drag him out of the office.

As soon as they were outside, they meet up with Sabine.

"There you are. How'd it go?" she asked, as she fell into step with them.

"The NERVE of that guy." Ezra walked with his arms folded, still upset over the scene that had just happened.

"I know, Ezra. I wanted to punch him too," Kanan agreed.

"I take it did _not_ go too well," Sabine stated as they approached the _Ghost_, that was landed in an empty field on the outskirts of town.

"No, it didn't. And now the mission is blown all thanks to you." Ezra stopped walking and turned to Sabine.

"What do you mean _my fault_? You're the one who got into the fight!"

"If _you _hadn't been to busy socializing with your new best friend, then I wouldn't have had to fight!"

"I'm not the reason _you _decided to pick a fight!" Sabine said, and took a step towards Ezra.

"_I'm _not the one who picked it! He did!"

"Then you should have not engaged him in a fight!"

"Hey, Ezra, Sabine, cool it," Kanan said, but his attempts to stop the fight were ignored by the teens.

"I didn't have a choice! I had to defend myself!" Ezra shouted back at Sabine.

"Defend yourself? I heard you threw the first punch!"

Kanan stopped his attempts to pull them apart, taken back by this statement. It was not like his padawan to start a fight at this magnitude. Kanan knew that something else was behind it.

"So what if I did? He's the one who-" Ezra stopped himself quickly, turning away from the standoff between the two teens.

"He's the one who what?" Sabine asked, not knowing that for Ezra the fight was over, as Kanan observed.

"It doesn't matter." Ezra turned and walked aboard the ship. Kanan exchanged glances with Sabine, and turned and boarded as well. Kanan climbed up the ladder and into the cockpit, where Hera sat at the controls, running maintenance. He took the seat next to her, and watched her work in silence. When Hera noticed Kanan, she began to speak.

"Well – what happened? I could hear Ezra and Sabine arguing from here."

"Ezra started a fight at school, and because of that, they couldn't get the data," Kanan stated. Hera spun around in her chair to face him.

"What? Kanan, that's not good. We have a limited window – not to mention that one of us could be recognized. Why did he start a fight? He knew the importance of this mission."

"It had to do with a few things. First, Sabine got sidetracked, and second…I think he was picked on."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the other kid must have said something to Ezra that made him attack like that. I just don't know what would trigger him to do that." He looked up at Hera, who was about to say something, but Kanan cut her off, knowing what she was going to say. "And I'm not going to ask him; he seemed pretty upset."

"Fine. I'll ask him." Hera stood and began walking toward Ezra's room.

"Hera, that's not what I suggested!" Kanan shouted, as he stood and tried to catch up with her. They turned down the hallway, and they saw Zeb standing in the hallway, banging on the door.

"Kid, I swear, if you don't open the door _this minute_, I'll-"

"You'll what? If you didn't notice, I'm in here and you're out there." Ezra's voice was muffled by the walls. Kanan heard Zeb growl, as he banged once more on the door before giving up. He turned and saw Kanan and Hera standing there.

"Good luck. You're going to need it." Zeb turned and walked off down the hallway. Hera and Kanan exchanged glances before walking in front of Ezra's door.

"Ezra? It's Hera. Can I come in?"

"Go away." Hera was taken back for a moment, before quickly recovering.

"Ezra, I don't know what's wrong, but you can't stay in there. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Go away." Kanan heard Hera sigh. She turned around to face Kanan.

"Why don't you try? You're his master. He'll listen to you."

Kanan took a step closer to the door as Hera took a step back. He knocked twice, and paused.

"Ezra, I'm coming in." Not waiting for a response, Kanan flicked his wrist and the door open. He walked in, and the door slid shut behind him. He glanced around the room, looking for the always energetic teen. But when he saw him, he looked anything but energetic.

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	5. Chapter 5

Hello! This chapter was suppose to come out yesterday, but I kept on getting some error report? Did anyone else get this, or was it just me? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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**Chapter 5 - Parenting**

Ezra was in no mood to open the door. He heard Zeb's banging, but soon he finally gave up. Ezra sighed, having avoided any awkward conversation about the fight. He was sitting on the floor, resting his head on his knees with his back leaning against the bunk.

He did not want to hide away in his room, but he could not face the crew with his blood shot eyes and sour mood. They all knew that he got into a fight, and he knew Kanan would be disappointed. He was upset, frustrated. He thought that kids would stop bullying each other when they were older; but he had been proven wrong.

Knocking on his door interrupted him from his thoughts. He sighed, not wanting to face anyone and be forced to talk about what had happened. Thinking it was Zeb again, Ezra was surprised that Hera's muffled voice came from outside the room.

"Ezra? It's Hera. Can I come in?" Ezra grimaced, not wanting to hurt Hera's feeling, but he had to stay in his shell if he wanted to avoid the topic.

"Go away."

There was a slight pause before Hera continued.

"Ezra, I don't know what's wrong, but you can't stay in there. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Go away." Ezra felt worse for having to shut Hera out like this. She had been nice to him from the moment he stepped onto her ship, and this was how he repaid her.

"Ezra, I'm coming in." Kanan's voice echoed throughout the room. Ezra mentally face palmed for forgetting that Kanan could use the force as he heard the door to his room slide open. But he did not want to look up at his master.

He knew that what he did went against the Jedi order, but he had just been so _angry_, and let his emotions take over. Ezra knew that he was disappointed, and could not bear to look up and see his face.

After a few moments, he felt a breeze and heard Kanan sit down on the bottom bunk. Still, Ezra refused to remove his head from atop of his knees. Kanan spoke up after a few moments of silence.

"Ezra…It's okay." He said, and Ezra looked up.

"No, it's not." He saw Kanan looking into his blue eyes, and knowing that they were probably blood shot, Ezra quickly turned his head away.

Kanan did not know how to comfort his padawan. He knew that Ezra was hurting, but he did not want to push him to open up. The last time he had done that, he had used the dark side of the force. Kanan stifled a shudder, not wanting that to happen again. He turned back to Ezra.

"Ezra, you can sense something, can't you?" Ezra bit his lip, and turned back to face Kanan. He made eye contact, but he lowered his eyes before he spoke.

"Yeah, I did."

"What is it?"

"It was nothing. Just a bad feeling."

"How so?"

"What do you care? It doesn't matter. Sabine blew the mission." Ezra stood up in frustration, and looked back down at the ground. "…I blew the mission."

"Ezra, it's alright. You'll try again tomorrow."

"Wait, _tomorrow_?" Ezra whipped around to face Kanan. "What do you mean, _tomorrow_?"

Kanan grimaced at the detail he had let slip. "Yeah, Ezra, about that. We're going to try to get the information one more time. It'll stretch our time limit, but-"

"No." Kanan looked up at the young boy who had cut him off.

"Ezra, what do you mean no?"

"No. I'm not going back there. Sabine can go herself."

"Look, Ezra, I know that you don't want to talk about it, but I know that you got picked on by-"

"You don't know anything." Ezra said coldly, and walked toward the door, about to leave.

"Ezra, we have to get the data disk. It will only be one more day. You can't let your emotions distract you from the mission." Ezra froze in place, and his shoulders slumped.

"Just one more day?"

"Yes, I promise." A few moments later, Ezra let out a sigh.

"Okay, fine. One more day."

But before Kanan could respond to Ezra, the door slid shut, leaving Kanan alone.

Kanan was worried. The mission was taking its toll on his padawan, but Sabine needed someone to watch her back during the mission. Kanan sighed. He needed to talk to her next.

Who knew that parenting was so hard?

* * *

><p>Kanan knocked on Sabine's door, and after hearing a 'come in,' he did so. Sabine was standing with her spray painter in hand, looking at one of her murals.<p>

"Sabine, can we talk?"

"Is this about Ezra? Because I have no clue what happened," Sabine responded, not even glancing at Kanan, who raised his eyebrows in suspicion.

"I think you do." This elicited a reaction from Sabine, who finally turned around to look at him.

"Look, it wasn't my fault he got into a fight. I don't even know how it started."

"I know that, Sabine."

"Then why are you asking?"

"I just want to know why you didn't stop him when the fight broke out." Sabine took in a breath before answering.

"Well, I kind of wasn't _exactly _there at the time."

"Wait, what?" Kanan had a confused look on his face, complementary to the one Sabine had, which was more of a guilty look.

"I-" Sabine stopped herself, and realization came across her face, and she sighed. "I got distracted." Sabine looked down at the floor, avoiding looking at Kanan. "Ezra was right. It was my fault." Sabine stooped onto her bad, sitting down. "I just wanted to-. I didn't think he would-."

"Sabine, it's not your fault; everyone makes mistakes. Tomorrow you'll try again – but this is the last chance we'll get." Sabine nodded in agreement with Kanan's words.

"All I want to know is _why_ he started the fight. It just didn't make sense," Sabine said.

"Yeah, you and me both." Kanan looked down at the floor, lost in his own deep thoughts about his padawan. "You and me both."

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R & R

~ Kavella ~


	6. Chapter 6

Hello! So sorry this is late, I've been super busy. But I'm back and will return to regular updates. I jsut want to say that this is my favorite chapter, and I hope you will like it as much as I do! Enjoy!

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**Chapter 6 - Secrets**

The bell rang, and for the second time, Ezra shot out of his seat, avoiding the bully. Ezra raced down the hallways and through the cafeteria, heading towards the basement door. He was glad that Sabine had apologized to him earlier, and glad that he would not have to stick around the school long enough for the detention he had gotten. He couldn't help it when his sarcasm snuck out of his mouth; it was in his nature.

He turned the corner and saw Sabine standing by the door in her school uniform. When she saw him, she spoke up.

"You ready?"

"Yeah. Let's do this and get out of here."

Sabine stepped to the side, and Ezra pulled out his screwdriver from his pants pocket. He was surprised at how large they were when he first tried them on. Someone could fit a whole data-pad in them.

The click of the now unlocked door drew Ezra from his thoughts. Sabine rushed in first, but before Ezra followed, he glanced down the hall. The same feeling came to him; something did not feel right.

"Hurry up," Sabine said, in a hushed voice. Shaking off his feeling, Ezra turned and started descending into the basement, closing the door behind him.

The dim red lights hanging from the ceiling gave off an eerie glow as the two teens snuck down the stairs. Ezra could see filing cabinets all around the walls, and rows upon rows of metal shelves were filled with boxes.

"The data chip should be in the back room." Sabine pointed to a door on the opposite wall of the room. Ezra nodded, and they began walking through the rows of files. The silence was not kept by the sound of a bell being rung. Startled, the two teens looked back towards the stairs. They were running out of time. Someone would notice their absence and try to find them. Sabine continued walking at a faster pace, making it to the door and turning the knob.

Inside the small room stood a metal desk with stacked data pads tossed carelessly on top. The room looked older, with papers scattered around the floor and filing cabinets scattered in awkward positions. Sabine took a step, but a small rat scurried out of the room. Sabine and Ezra jumped back, surprised that they were not alone.

After watching the rat race away, they stepped inside the small room and closed the door behind them.

"Quick, it should be about the size of your palm." Sabine started opening filing cabinets as Ezra walked over to the desk. Shifting the data tables around, nothing seemed to be that small.

"What is this place? It looks like it hasn't been used in years." Ezra crouched down and began to open the desk drawers.

"This was where the files were kept on the students a long time ago. I'm actually surprised they still kept the room."

"Wait, how long ago?"

"Around seven, eight years ago." Ezra froze.

"Hey, Sabine, could you help me open this drawer? It's stuck." Sabine turned and looked at Ezra. She had a confused look on her face, but came over none the less. The drawer was stuck, but Ezra did not notice. He just needed a diversion.

He quickly walked over to the file cabinet marked with a 'B'. He pulled it open and began rooting through the files until he came upon the one he needed.

'E. Bridger.' Emotions hit Ezra, but he quickly waved them off. He could not let Sabine see. He grabbed the few papers that were inside and shoved them into his pocket. He replaced the folder, closing the cabinet drawer.

"Man, this is stuck." Ezra turned and looked at Sabine, who was still struggling to open the cabinet. Sabine reached for her back, right where her shirt overlapped her skirt, and pulled out one of her guns.

"Sabine! How did you… Why did you…_What_?"

"Hey, don't blame me. I felt like I was missing something without the weight." Sabine switched the safety on the gun to off.

"Do you know how dangerous that is? What if you got caught?" Ezra was now yelling in a hushed whisper at Sabine's carelessness.

"I didn't get caught. Besides, it's about to come in handy. Let's just hope it's in here."

"Sabi-" The blaster shot echoed through the room, and the drawer smoked a bit from the blast. "Are you _insane_?"

"Keep your voice down!"

"I don't think it matters anymore since you _just fired a shot_."

"Well, would you rather it be an explosion?"

"Wait, are you saying you brought _bombs_ with you to school?" Sabine paused, looking up at Ezra.

"I neither deny nor confirm that statement."

"Sabine! Where did you even keep them?"

"Hey, a girl's got to have her secrets." Sabine smiled at Ezra briefly, before returning to the mission. "Keep looking through the cabinets." Sabine slid open the drawer with ease, and Ezra sighed. There was no point in arguing about it now, anyway. He walked over to the drawer with the letter 'H' marked on the top. Opening it, he shifted through the files, until he came across one that made him freeze.

'R. Hayes'

The file was Roth's.

Quickly, he opened it up, but found that nothing was inside. It did not make sense to Ezra. All the other files had plenty of papers in them, but not this one. Oddly enough, there was a small piece of paper wedged in, with the words 'See File X.' written on it. Curious, Ezra quickly replaced the file and went to the file cabinet marked with an 'X'. He opened the first drawer, but it was empty.

Completely empty.

Something was wrong. Why was Roth's file in the basement? Wouldn't they have moved it with the new files? And why was this entire cabinet empty?

Ezra crouched down, reaching for the last drawer, when he saw something odd on the wall. There was a sort of gap in between the floor and the wall. It spanned a little more than one meter. Ezra stood up and noticed that the same thing was true at the top. There was a small indent before this section of the wall hit the ceiling. Pushing a filing cabinet out of the way, he came closer to the section of wall.

"What are you doing?" Sabine's voice startled Ezra, having forgotten he was not alone.

"There's something wrong with this part of the wall. See?" He pointed to the floor and ceiling where the wall did not touch. Sabine looked at it, but continued her search.

"We need to keep looking. We're almost out of time. And there's something off with this drawer. There was nothing in it." Ezra turned and looked at Sabine, who held the drawer up for him to see.

"Try checking if there's a secret compartment. In the principal's office yesterday, the secretary had the same drawer with nothing in it."

"Wait, how do you know this?" Sabine looked up from the drawer as Ezra shrugged.

"I got bored." Ezra turned back around to face the wall. He began knocking on it, and leaned his head on it to see if he could hear anything.

"Found it!" Sabine shouted in a hushed tone, as she held the information card in her hand. "You were right. Now come on, let's get out of here." Sabine opened the door and shot out. Ezra was about to follow when a voice struck panic through him.

"And what do you think _you're_ doing here?"

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(Note: For all of you _Not the Only One_ readers, the next chapter will come out tomorrow)

Thanks for reading!

R & R

~ Kavella ~


	7. Chapter 7

Hello! So there's not too much happening in this chapter, and I apologize for that, but I promise the next chapter will have more action.

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**Chapter 7 – Caught**

Sabine froze. Before her stood the principal, looking as stern as ever. She was busted. She just hoped Ezra had not followed her. It would not help if they had both been caught. Sabine was a fast runner, and had made it halfway to the stairs before he had shown up out of nowhere.

"What?" Sabine was too shocked by the sudden appearance to think of anything else to say. Sabine was suddnely grateful that her hand holding the data card was behind her back, away from the principals view.

"Young lady, this is a restricted area. I don't care _how_ well you're doing in school, you're coming with me." As he was speaking, Sabine subtly slid the card in between two boxes on the shelf behind her. After concealing it, she knew that she was going to be alright. The principal could not know that the real reason she was down her was to steal information.

"Yes, sir. Sorry. I got curious." Sabine shrugged her shoulders, hoping to get out of punishment, but it was no use.

"Your parents will hear about this." Sabine was led out of the basement towards the office.

No, her real parents would not hear about this. But Kanan is not going to be pleased, having to sit through another parent meeting with the loyalist. But Sabine just hoped that Ezra would find the data card.

Now, the whole mission depended on him.

* * *

><p>Kanan sighed as he approached the school, yet again.<p>

He had been called in for a meeting with the loyalist principal. But this time he felt slightly anxious. If Ezra and Sabine had gotten caught during the mission, there would be no hope in retrieving the data, and the mission would be a complete loss. But then again, Sabine and Ezra were more than capable of pulling it off. Kanan even saw Sabine slip a few explosives into her backpack, but knowing Sabine, didn't question it.

He just hoped they had gotten the data card.

But then another thought crossed Kanan's mind. What if Ezra had gotten into a fight again? Then what would they do? Kanan knew that they could not risk staying in the school; they could be recognized at any time, and that would be a disaster.

But if Ezra got into another fight, he might be kicked out of the school, leaving Sabine having to do it alone. And Ezra would probably not talk to anyone about it like before, something that bothered Kanan. He just wanted to know if his padawan was alright, and he could not help him if he did not know what was wrong.

Kanan opened the door to the office, and the secretary recognized him.

"Ah, yes. Mr. Morgan. Go on in." Kanan was thrown off by being addressed as that, but continued on. He opened the door to the office, and there sat Sabine. Kanan felt relieved to see she was okay, but he noticed that Ezra was not with her. He looked up at the principal, who motioned him to sit down. And he did not look happy.

Time to put on a show.

* * *

><p>Ezra froze and immediately crouched down. Thoughts raced to his mind. Had they been caught? Did they know that they were rebels? Were they going to be arrested and tortured?<p>

Pressing away his fearful thoughts, Ezra made his way over to the slightly ajar door and peeked through. He heard the principle scolding Sabine, and he watched Sabine slowly slide the disk in between two boxes.

Leave it to Sabine to think of a way out.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Ezra quickly ran up to the place where Sabine had been standing, and took the data disk. He was relieved that Sabine had done so; if the principal had found it in her hands, it could have gone a lot worse.

He shoved the disk into his pocket with the papers. As quickly as he dared, he raced up the stairs as they creaked beneath his weight, and cracked the door open as quietly as possible. Ezra had no idea when the principle would be back, or if anyone else had seen them enter. How had the principal sneaked by them? The stairs were too loud; they would have heard him coming. Something did not feel right to him. It just did not add up.

He stuck his head out, checking down the hallway, before opening the door all the way. But that was when the feeling came back.

Ezra stiffened. This time it felt more intense. Realization struck as Ezra whipped around to see what his feeling was trying to warn him against.

But it was too late.

* * *

><p>After what seemed like hours, Kanan and Sabine were finally on their way back to the Ghost. The loyalist had droned on and on about 'teaching kids respect' and 'keeping out of other's business'. Sabine fell asleep at one point, but Kanan was thankful that she did not snore like one of their other crew members.<p>

They reached the ship, too tired to make conversation, but when Hera, Zeb and chopper were waiting for their return, they knew something was wrong.

Before Kanan or Sabine could get a word in edgewise, Hera had begun talking.

"Where have you _been_?" Hera crossed her arms, looking angrily upon the two of them. Kanan sighed, knowing that he was going to have to explain.

"The principal would not stop talking. I didn't think it would take that long."

"Yes, and I'm glad for that, but how long did one simple meeting take?"

"I told you, he was a loyalist. He would not stop talking about how great the Empire was."

"So you just sat there? You could have walked out. It's not like we're going to be going back to the school."

Kanan started to protest, but then stopped. He sighed in defeat. He looked over at Zeb, who handed a few credits to Sabine. Kanan was confused, but then quickly drew conclusions.

"Did you just bet on us?" He asked, and Sabine and Zeb looked startled at the question. Looking at each other, then back at Kanan, they replied in unison.

"Yes."

"Honestly, I don't even know why I still bet on him." Zeb said, continuing the conversation with just Sabine. "He's always losing."

"I know; it's making me rich." She replied.

Kanan shook his head, and was about to tell them how they were not helping, when Hera stopped him.

"Kanan, where's Ezra?" This froze the whole crew in their tracks, and all at once they began talking.

"Wait, you mean he's not with you?"

"What!?"

"I thought he was with you!"

"What do you mean, 'he's not with you'?"

"He was right behind me!"

The voices grew louder, and Zeb was the only one who had not spoken up, and he was getting frustrated. Chopper's frantic chirping at the crew did not help matters either.

"STOP!" Zeb's voice echoed over the crew, who all turned to look at him. "Will someone please explain what happened?" He looked at Hera and Kanan, but they looked at Sabine.

With all eyes on her, she started speaking.

"We had the plans, but as we were getting out the principal caught me. Ezra was still in the room that we came from. I hid the disk and I was brought upstairs, but no one else was with him."

"Then what happened to him?" All five crew members were quiet. In each of their minds a hundred possible scenarios played through, all of them ending badly. After a few moments, it was Kanan who spoke up.

"Well, looks like we're going back to school."

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R & R

~ Kavella ~


	8. Chapter 8

Hello! I hope you like this chapter!

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**Chapter 8 -Keys**

Kanan led the way to the school, avoiding any Stromtroopers wandering the streets of Lothal. They sneaked around the building towards the back, where they could slip in undetected.

Sabine, Zeb and Kanan entered through the window into the dark school. Once inside, Sabine took the lead, walking down the moonlit hallways of the school. Kanan glanced around, thinking about Ezra. The kid could get himself into a lot of trouble, and he was worried. After all, Ezra was still a kid, and he had been forced to grow up too fast. They approached the basement door, and Sabine turned the knob.

But it was locked.

"What? It was open when we came earlier. Something's wrong." Sabine looked up at Kanan, but he could not read the look on her face; but he could tell from the sound of her voice that she was worried.

"I'll take care of this," Zeb said, walking up to the door as he pulled out his Bo-Rifle.

"No, Zeb," Kanan said, and Zeb stopped. "We don't want to cause any damage, or else it will draw unwanted attention to the basement. We need the key." Zeb put away his weapon, understanding Kanan's point, but disappointed that he did not get to blow up the lock.

"I think I know a way to find the key, and find a clue to Ezra's whereabouts." Sabine pointed upwards behind Kanan, who turned around to see what she pointed at. In the corner of the hallway, a security camera turned back and forth, a red blinking light on the top.

"Sabine," Kanan said, turning back to face the crew. "Lead the way."

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Fortunately for the rebel crew, the door to the office was unlocked. Sabine, Zeb and Kanan walked in, looking for keys and possibly a video feed. Kanan walked into the principal's office, and began rooting through the drawers. He opened the bottom one and found a metal ring with numerous keys attached. Kanan closed the drawer, hoping that somewhere on the ring was the key they needed.

"Kanan, you might want to see this." Kanan walked out of the office and saw Sabine and Zeb standing at the secretary's desk, a holoscreen turned on. He came closer and saw that it was the video camera that they saw earlier. Sabine clicked play.

On the screen, Kanan saw the basement door open, and Ezra emerged. He quickly glanced around, looking if the coast was clear. He opened the door all the way and relaxed. But it only lasted for a brief moment. Kanan saw Ezra tense. He stiffened his back and stood up straight. Something was wrong. Ezra whipped his head around, and looked back into the basement, when abruptly he fell onto the ground, and he desperately tried to stop some force from pulling him back into the basement.

Ezra's face full of fear would forever be implanted into Kanan's memories.

Ezra was easily overpowered by whatever was pulling him down, despite his attempts to stop it. Ezra, having nothing to grab on to, clawed at the tiled floor; which was no use. Ezra disappeared from view. Moments later, the door closed by itself.

Sabine stopped the video feed, and the crew was silent. Unexpectedly, it was Zeb who broke the silence.

"What…what happened?" Two heads turned to look at Kanan.

"I…I don't know."

They made their way back to the basement door in silence, still concerned for their youngest member of their crew. Kanan walked up to the door and slid the first key on the ring into the door lock. He heard Sabine sigh behind him.

"What?" He asked, looking up at her in confusion.

"That's not going to fit."

"And how do you know?" Kanan asked.

"That's the complete opposite model of the one the lock needs." Sabine said in a tone as if it was common knowledge. "Here, I'll show you." Kanan gave the keys to Sabine, who crouched down in front of the door and searched through the keys efficiently, until stopping at one. "See this one? And all these different ridges? That's the type it needs." Sabine placed the key into the lock, and turned it.

The click echoed through the dark hallway.

Sabine stood up and opened the door, and a gust of wind blew at the crew members. But Kanan knew it was more than that; it was the presence of the dark side.

"Stay close," He said, not wanting to tell them about the feeling. Kanan went first down the basement stairs, and the creaking noise seemed louder in the silence.

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Zeb entered last, closing the door behind them, locking them in the basement. He walked down the stairs, carefully hoping the creaking was not too much noise. He looked down at his bare feet. He had felt something rough on the stair he was standing on. Shifting his foot to the side, he was surprised that his feeing had been right.

"Kanan," he whispered, and the Jedi looked back, as did Sabine. He pointed to his feet, and Sabine crouched down to get a better look.

"There's carving in the stairs, as if-" Sabine said, but stopped herself. She stood back up and faced Kanan. "As if someone was clawing at it."

Zeb took this information in, and watched as Kanan did the same. They reached the bottom of the stairs and spread out. Zeb went to the back wall, where he saw a discolored part of the wall. Zeb walked over, and the rancid stench hit his nose. He immediately recognized it.

"Kanan?" Zeb whispered as loud as he dared, and he walked over. Zeb pointed to the stain on the wall, and Kanan walked up to it, running his finger through it. He looked up at Zeb, who's grim face confirmed Kanan's suspicions.

They needed to find Ezra.

"It's not here." Sabine showed up behind Zeb, her helmet masking her face. "The data card is gone."

"So the kid musta' taken it."

"Yeah, but where is he now?" Kanan turned to Sabine. "Where did you first find the data card?" Without another word, Sabine turned back into the rows of files, the red light giving off an uncanny glow.

Sabine led them to a room in the back, and she slowly pushed open the door. Inside a desk sat in the middle, and filing cabinets were scattered all around. Zeb, Sabine and Kanan spread out, in hopes of finding the youngest member of their crew. And hopefully soon.

Zeb walked around the perimeter, not really sure of what he was looking for. He walked by a cabinet with the letter 'X' marked on it, and stiffened. Something was not right. He turned to face the cabinet, and saw that it was slightly pushed to the side. Listening, Zeb could hear a whisper of wind coming from this section of the wall.

"There's something wrong here." Sabine and Kanan came over to where Zeb stood, and he continued speaking. "I can hear the wind. There's another room."

"Ezra was checking this out earlier," Sabine said, excited that they may have found a clue. "He said he noticed a gap in the wall or something." Zeb and Sabine looked up at Kanan, who had already closed his eyes and outstretched his hand. Kanan opened his eyes and flicked his wrist, and the wall resisted, before sliding down into the floor, exposing a hidden room.

The crew members looked in, and their youngest member looked back at them, with a face filled with fear.

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R & R

~ Kavella ~


	9. Chapter 9

Hello! Can I just say that the season one finale was amazing! I was shaking the whole time! Did you guys like it? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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**Chapter 9 – Click**

Ezra stiffened. This time it felt more intense. Realization struck as Ezra whipped around to see what his feeling was trying to warn him against.

But it was too late.

Bright yellow eyes shone through the darkness; belonging to the one person he did not expect to see. Roth stood behind him, his face showing no emotions. He grabbed onto Ezra's ankle and tugged, sending him flat onto his stomach. Roth began dragging him down the stairs, and Ezra, feeling powerless, began to claw at the ground. If he had not been so afraid, he might have been able to do something. But he was panicking, throwing every rational thought out the window. He tried to grip onto the wooden stairs, despite the fact that his fingertips and nails had started to bleed.

Time had slowed for Ezra. Every ticking second felt like a decade as he frantically kicked and clawed. Eventually the stairs ended, and Ezra was somehow thrown against the back wall. Too disoriented to notice how he got there, he did notice that he was suspended against the wall, but no one was touching him. He tried to move, but there was a force pushing him into the brick wall, a force that he could not overpower.

He looked up helplessly as Roth stood before him, hand outstretched, yellow eyes glowing. He walked closer, taking out a small metallic object from his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Ezra again attempted to move, but he was still suspended by the force. _The force._ Ezra mentally face palmed for not realizing it earlier. Kanan would have had his head. "You can't use the force – and you don't have yellow eyes." Realization dawned on the frightened teen. "You- you're a Sith!"

Now Roth was close enough to Ezra to take the knife he held in his other hand and slice Ezra's cheek with one harsh swipe. Ezra winced at the sudden pain, and the blood began dripping down his face and onto the wall.

"Why are you doing this?" Ezra forced himself to speak despite the small burning on his cheek.

"It's nothing personal, my boy." Ezra looked up, surprised that the voice did not come from Roth. The principal stood proudly at the bottom of the stairs. He took a step towards Ezra, inspecting him. "You see, our school does not tolerate _force users_."

Ezra froze and a sickening feeling washed over him. They had known. They had known that Ezra was a Jedi all along. When Ezra did not respond, the man continued talking.

"Yes, we knew, Dev Morgan. That's why our friend Roth here was assigned to you." Ezra's eyes widened as he looked at Roth, who continued to use the force to suspend him against the wall. His face remained indifferent. "Put him in the back."

Ezra was dropped to the floor, and before he could gasp in surprise, he was already being dragged by the arms across the filthy floor. Ezra was still in a haze of confusion. They had known he was a Jedi, but why did they not kill him on the spot? A new fear rushed through his mind. What had they done with Sabine?

"Where is she?" Ezra demanded as he was dragged along.

"Who? Oh, your sister?" The principal said as he walked behind. "I would be more worried about you. But if you must know, you will disappear off the face of Lothal, and no one will hear or see you again." His tone was relaxed, contrasted with Ezra's panicking voice.

Ezra was about to respond, but no words came. Would he really disappear? Would the crew ever find him? Ezra now felt remorse for how he acted back on the ship. Was the last thing that said to Hera 'Go away'? Was the last thing he had done to Zeb was make him mad? Was the last thing he had done to his master, the person he was the closest to, shut him out?

The dragging had stopped, jolting Ezra from his thoughts. He was slammed onto a metal table, the cold seeping through his thin white school shirt. He could feel someone restricting his arms and legs with a rough band. The wind was knocked out of him from being slammed onto the table, rendering him unable to resist.

"In fact, young boy, I'm surprised by all of this. We have not had a force user incident in about…hmm, eight years now." Ezra's heart froze. "Unfortunately, he was able to get away from our friend here. But I promise that you will not be as fortunate." Ezra's eyes turned to Roth, who had finished bounding his ankles. He stood with his arms at his side, back straight and no emotions.

"What…_is_ he?" Ezra had never seen such a behavior before. It was as if Roth was an empty shell; droids had more emotions that him.

"Oh, you mean our friend Roth?" The principal walked over to where he stood, and looked at him admiringly. "He is an experiment that has proved most successful." The man looked back at Ezra with a sickening grin on his face.

Ezra was shocked. "What did you do to him?"

"We made him into a soldier," the man said in a defensive tone. "He will soon be used to hunt young force users in schools all across the Galaxy; bullying them to make them emotionally insecure, and then using that fear to kill them!"

The principal relaxed a bit, having lost control with his anger. "And he will do the same with you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important issues to deal with." The principal walked out of a doorway, which Ezra realized led into the office from before. The wall slid up from the ground and locked in place with a sickening clink.

Ezra's head was whipped to the other side, and Roth stood over him, his hand still grasping a chunk of his hair.

"Pathetic." He said, picking up Ezra's head ad slamming it onto the metal surface. He let go, and Ezra's mind swarmed, unable to focus. His vision blurred, but not enough to see Roth holding something over his head. Ezra could taste the cloth fabric covering his mouth, as it tightened around the back of his head.

"I'll be back for you." He heard, and shaking off his dizziness, he realized that he was alone. Taking in his surroundings, he saw a single light fixture hanging over his head. He looked around, but he could not see the walls through the darkness. Ezra knew this was on purpose, but he was still afraid. He felt alone and afraid.

His sense of time had gone. He had no clue how long he had been lying there. For all he knew it could have been hours. Ezra could feel his blood drying on his cheek, and he could still feel the weight of the data card. Thankfully, they had not been smart enough to check his pockets. The most troubling part was that Roth had not returned. Ezra was afraid. He could be in the room, watching and waiting for him to break down, or he could be right above him, sharpening his knife.

With nothing else to do, Ezra's fingers itched, wanting to do something, or anything. His mind began to wander.

_'And he will do the same with you.'_

The words penetrated Ezra's mind as they repeated over and over. They were going to change him into what Roth was; a bully. A bully who harasses students to join the dark side. How was that possible? And, if somehow it was true, did that mean that Roth was once…well, normal?

He heard a click. It was the first noise he had heard in however long he had been alone, and his head whipped to the right side of the room, where the door was located. He saw it retracting down into the floor, and he was afraid of seeing who had opened it.

But as he took in the three figures that stood before him, relief washed through him.

But his fear still lingered.

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R & R

~ Kavella ~


	10. Chapter 10

Hello! I hope you like this chapter!

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**Chapter 10 - Target**

Kanan saw Ezra's fear.

As soon as they had locked eyes, Ezra had attempted to talk through his gag. He started to try and free himself by thrashing around, trying desperately to be released.

"Ezra, it's okay. We're here," Kanan comforted as he removed the fabric restricting Ezra's voice. When he did, the crew could finally make out what he was saying.

"He's coming. Kanan, he's coming." Ezra continued to struggle, making it difficult for Sabine and Zeb to untie him.

"Ezra…Ezra!" Kanan said, trying to get the boy's attention. "Who's coming?" Ezra looked at him with fear. Kanan glanced back at Zeb and Sabine, who had untied Ezra's right arm and leg, and were currently working on his left leg, which seemed to put up some resistance. Ezra, using his now free right hand, grabbed Kanan's shoulder. His grip was tight with fear.

"He's coming. He's coming." Kanan was transfixed by how Ezra was acting – completely paranoid. He was so surprised that he stopped trying to untie his left hand, staring at Ezra. A voice broke them from his thoughts.

"That would be me."

Kanan looked up, recognizing the figure that stood in the doorway.

Roth, his yellow eyes glowing bright, took a few steps closer. And with every step, Ezra attempted to slide away. Sabine and Zeb drew their weapons, but with a flick of his wrist, they were tossed aside like rag dolls, falling in to the darkness surrounding the room. Ezra began to shake before him. The boy took another step towards Kanan, and threw out his hand.

Kanan felt the world blur around him as he was force pushed away from Ezra. His back hit a stone wall, and he felt his chest tighten. Gasping for air, he fell onto his hands and knees, trying to calm himself.

A loud _thud_ made Kanan snap his vision towards Ezra. He was now sitting on the ground by the metal platform, tugging at the rope that still held his left arm, desperately trying to free himself.

But it was not working.

Kanan stood, ignoring the tightness still surrounding his chest, and began to rush towards Ezra. His vision could only see him struggling, ignoring all outside distractions. But this also made it easy for Kanan to miss what was happening around him. Before he could appear in the circle of light in the center of the room, Zeb sprung from the shadows, attacking Roth head on. But Roth, with a bare expression, sidestepped out of the Lasat's grasp. Again, Roth extended his hand and Zeb flew from view.

However, Zeb's failed attempt allowed Kanan to advance towards Roth without his knowing. Kanan stepped into the light and, using reaching onto the familiar feeling, pushed Roth into the wall.

The kid was not the only one who could use the force.

Ignoring the questions that arose in Kanan's mind about _how_ and _why_, he held Roth against the wall.

"Zeb! Sabine!" Kanan shouted, hoping that one of them was in ear shot.

"Kanan!" His head whipped to the side, seeing a change in the lighting of the room. He that saw Sabine had untied Ezra, who was rubbing his wrists. He followed the teen's gaze to the side of the room where a light was shining through the darkness of the room. Zeb stood before it, his face shadowed by the light from behind.

Kanan turned back to the bully, who continued to stare at him with his yellow eyes. His face showed indifference on his face, but his eyes shone bright with determination. Kanan focused his strength, and forced pushed Roth in the opposite direction. Kanan pivoted and ran towards the door, hoping that Roth had not recovered yet. The floor blurred beneath Kanan's feet with each wide step. His ponytail wavered with the wind as it flew at him. He headed into the light and twisted his feet to the side to slow his momentum. He slid to a stop as Zeb slammed the door.

As the crew caught their breath, they slowly turned their heads and realized what was in the room with them.

* * *

><p>Ezra's body was leaned against the wall as he tried to steady his breathing. He was going to be okay. The crew had saved him. He would not become a dark force user.<p>

But they were not home free yet.

He looked up and noticed the décor of the room they were in. It was long and narrow, with the walls lines with test tubes and lab stations. Unknown liquids flowed through tubes and beakers as others sat on the shelves lining the wall. The lights hung in a straight line, poorly illuminating the room. At the back wall, a large bacta tank stood. It was filled with an electric yellow color, still flowing in the container. The crew silently walked up to the bacta tank, all drawn in by its mysteriousness. Ezra continued to stare at it, as he thought about what the principal had said earlier.

_"We made him into a soldier."_

He had been wrong. Roth was not a soldier; he was lab rat. Gulping, Ezra was glad that his friends had saved him when they did. He feared that if they had come any later, they would be looking at him through the glass.

He heard the drum of Sabine's fingers on the data pad that was on the platform that supported the bacta tank.

"It says here something about file 'X'?" Sabine said, and Ezra froze.

"What does it say?" Zeb asked, leaning forward.

"It's an experiment funded by the Empire. It takes force sensitive kids and injects them with this liquid called _force propagation_. The substance is able to increase the midi-chlorian amount, but at the same time, it corrupts the host."

"What does that mean?" Ezra asked, confused by the larger vocabulary. He looked at Kanan, whose face had gone stone cold as he spoke.

"It means…it turns them to the dark side." The crew went silence, letting it sink it. Slowly, three heads turned towards Ezra.

"They didn't inject me; if that's what you're wondering," Ezra defended. Sabine and Zeb turned back to the screen, but Kanan remained staring at his padawan. Ezra avoided eye contact, nervous about Kanan's inspection of him.

"Wait, it says here that whoever injects the substance into the host is able to control their actions. Is that what happened to that kid?" Sabine asked, looking up at Ezra.

But before he could respond, Kanan cut him off.

"Ezra!"

Looking up at Kanan, Ezra saw that he was looking at something behind him. Whipping around, he came face to face with Roth, needle only centimeters away from his face. Ezra's reflexes kicked in, making him flinch out of the way. The needle ran through the space where Ezra stood only seconds ago. But the sudden action threw Ezra off balance, making him land on the cold floor. He scooted away as Roth recovered from the jab.

But before Roth could take another step towards Ezra, he was suddenly thrown against the wall, the needle dropping from his hand. Ezra looked over and saw Kanan, his hand outstretched, with a concentrated look on his face. Ezra continued to back away little by little, feeling unsafe.

He was a target.

And by the look of things, he was an important one.

Kanan took a step towards the pinned-to-the-wall Roth, whose death stare made Ezra shiver.

"What are you planning?" Kanan asked, his voice filled with anger. Ezra looked up at Roth waiting for his response.

"We were waiting for you," Roth said, looking directly at Ezra. "You're stronger in the force than the rest of them." He chuckled. "You wouldn't die like the others." Roth flinched in pain, and Ezra knew why. Kanan was tightening his grip. But before Ezra could speak up, to tell his master that it was alright, to tell him to let it go, his head whipped back in pain.

He was forcefully pulled to his feet, and recognizing that the pain was coming from the back of his head, he realized that someone had grasped his hair at the roots. He let out a gasp of pain, which drew Sabine, Zeb, and Kanan's eyes towards his own. A voice boomed from behind him, no doubt from the person who was holding him.

"I see you did not follow my advice, boy," the principal said, and Ezra could hear his snarl.

Ezra had to think of something fast. He had escaped plenty of scenarios similar to this on the streets, and he knew what to do. He frantically searched around the room, looking for an element that could flip the tables on the principal. There, just within his reach, was a flask filled with some green liquid. It was bubbling and steaming, and it looked perfect. All Ezra needed to do was to snatch it, splash the principal so he would release his grip, and get out of his arm length.

He could do that with his eyes closed.

Ever since he had joined the crew, the term 'went exactly as planned' had been rare. And this was one of those situations where it had followed the trend. Before he could even reach out to take the flask, he was suddenly whipped to the side.

A flash of pain shot through him, and the world blurred around him. Ezra tried to stay away and focus as his master had always told him, but the pain was unbearable. His mind slowly drifted into the darkness.

And the last thing he saw was Kanan's worrisome eyes.

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R & R

~ Kavella ~


	11. Chapter 11

Hello! Sorry that I have not updated in a while, I've been super busy. Hopefully I will be able to get back on track. I hope you like this chapter!

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**Chapter 11 –Lost**

Kanan felt the darkness inside of him. He knew it was wrong, it was not the Jedi way, but he had let it come. Besides, the Jedi way had died a long time ago.

He stood with his feet planted on the ground, his hand outstretched. He was holding up Roth against the wall, his anger getting the best of him. But every word that he had spoken was a direct threat towards Ezra.

"You wouldn't die like the others."

Kanan tightened his grip on Roth; the threat had hit home. Kanan would not let anyone hurt his padawan. Not if he had a say in it.

_Jedi do not form attachments_

The dead words of his past life ran through his head. Deep down, he wanted to follow them. He truly did. But to do that, to follow the rules of a dead culture, was impossible. If only times had been different, if only destiny had taken another path, maybe he could have been able to follow the code. But now, he knew it was not possible. He protected his crew with his life, willing to give himself up in place of any one of them.

A cry of pain brought Kanan back into the present in a flash. He recognized the source instantly, and his heartbeat had started to race.

Ezra's face was contorted in pain as a large hand whipped his head back by the roots of his hair.

"I see you did not follow my advice, boy." Kanan cringed, remembering the principal's comment on his padawan's hair length. The principal's eyes meet Kanan's. His green eyes shone with fear and anger, contrasting the principals' brown eyes that shone with thrill.

Then, without a moment of hesitation, Ezra was flung into the side of a workstation table. His head hit with a sickening thud, and Kanan swore his heart stopped momentarily. The principal lifted the now unresistant body of his padawan, who looked up at Kanan. He could see the sparks of energy in Ezra's blue eyes fade away.

And a part of Kanan faded away with him.

But not enough.

"Now, Mr. Morgan, if that is your real name, I would prefer not to kill the boy; it would take ages to remove the blood from the floor. But do not think that I won't." The principal smirked, his face all knowing. Kanan released Roth from his force hold, clenching his fists in anger.

"Now, that's better." Roth walked over to the principal, his face showing no emotion. "I would love to get to know all of you better. Please, stay a while." The principal nodded to Roth, who grabbed rope from one of the lab stations and walked behind Kanan. Grabbing his clenched fists, he tied them together tight enough to restrict the blood circulation.

With a shove, Kanan was forced on to his knees. But his eyes never broke from the principal. Next to him, Sabine and Zeb's wrists were bound, and they were forced to the ground next to him. The room was filled with the constant sound of the blood dripping from Ezra's head. The principal then dropped Ezra to the ground, and proceeded to wipe his hands off on his expensive shirt, as if he was disgusted from touching Ezra.

"Roth, if you will," the principal bellowed. Kanan heard shuffling from behind him, but he refused to look back. He kept his eyes on Ezra, hoping that he was still alive. But from the pool of blood that was now forming, his hopes were quickly diminishing. Kanan knew that the principal had underestimated the crew; he had only bounded their hands. That left their legs and the rest of their bodies free to escape.

But it would take time to untie the rope; time that they did not have. Kanan glanced over at Sabine, making eye contact. Sabine, knowing exactly what Kanan was doing, began to fiddle with the ropes. Kanan looked back at Ezra, knowing that Sabine would be able to untie herself. She always had a few tricks up her sleeve.

Kanan looked back up to see Roth handing the principal the needle, filled with the _force propagation_ liquid.

"Don't you touch him," Kanan hissed.

"Sorry, _Mr. Morgan_," the principal said, not even looking at Kanan. "But that is a promise I cannot keep." The principal took the needle and crouched down next to Ezra.

Kanan had to do something, he had to. He would not let anything happen to Ezra. But Sabine was still cutting through the rope with a switchblade, and Kanan knew that she would not finish in time. So that left only one option.

"Wait!" Kanan shouted, drawing the attention of the principal. "Take me instead." Kanan could feel Zeb's eyes on him, but he did not care. Kanan would do anything for his padawan. The principal looked him over and spoke.

"No, that will not be necessary."

He turned back to Ezra, who showed no signs of coming back into consciousness anytime soon.

Kanan's heart was pounding in his chest as his body began to tremble. He needed to do something. If not, his padawan would become . . . a monster.

The principal checked over the shot, and stabbed it into Ezra's left arm. Immediately, Ezra cried out in pain, screaming at the top of his lungs. His body started jerking in pain.

It was too late.

And with the fear of losing his padawan at its peak, the _snap_ of a rope drove him into action. Sabine had gotten out and had drawn her blasters, and fired once at the needle. The sound of shattering glass confirmed that she had hit her target. Kanan rolled on the ground, twisting his body and jumping to his feet.

With the help of the force, the ropes were quickly broken apart from behind his back. The principal had clearly underestimated them greatly, but that was the one thing that Kanan was thankful for. He quickly force pushed the principal and Roth, who were caught off guard by the sudden ambush. But Kanan knew it would not last long. He ran over to his padawan, battered and bloody, lying on the floor. He slid on the floor next to him, ignoring the warm wetness that he felt on his knees, and jerked the now shattered needle out of his padawan's arm.

Ezra's screams stopped abruptly.

Kanan turned Ezra over onto his back, careful to avoid further injuring, and checked for a pulse. And faintly, there was the steady beat of the kid who refused to back down from anything.

He heard grunts around him, but trusted that Sabine and Zeb were able to hold their own, just for a few more moments. He needed to see a sign, _something_ that proved his padawan was still his padawan.

As if on cue, Ezra opened his eyes.

But instead of staring into the electric blue eyes that were always filled with energy and life, he only saw pain reflected in the now yellow eyes.

Kanan had lost everything the day the Empire had come into power. He had lost his master, his friends, his home, his culture.

And now, he had lost his padawan.

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R & R

~ Kavella ~


	12. Chapter 12

Hello! Sorry it has been taking me so long to update, but hopefully I will be updating more regularly now. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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**Chapter 12 – Bridger**

Sabine knew she had one chance. One shot, one impossible shot. The ropes gave way, unbinding her wrists from behind her back. With the sound of Ezra's scream fueling her adrenaline, her hands shot to her gun. She pulled it out of its holster with ease and leveled it, her eye on the target. Steading it with both hands, she took a deep breath.

She only had one chance. If she missed, Ezra was dead.

She released her breath and fired.

And the sound of breaking glass followed.

The tension poured out of her body. She had done it. She wanted to celebrate her impossible luck, but the fight was not over yet. Kanan had sprung into action, and he was headed straight for Ezra. Sabine reached over to Zeb and untied him. His Bo-Staff ignited, he charged at Roth, who was now recovering from the force push that Kanan had delivered. That meant that Sabine had the principal all to herself. And she would like nothing else but to get revenge for what he did to Ezra.

Sabine sprung up, and sprinting toward the man who was responsible for Ezra's screaming, she drew her other blaster. She saw the man run from the room and into the room they came from. Sabine raced after, and being much stronger than the man, she quickly caught up.

Sabine grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him into the wall.

"Fix him!" she shouted over Ezra's cries of pain. But instead of getting an answer, the man only laughed, earning him a punch in the back of his head.

"Is there an antidote?" Sabine was shaking with fear. There had to be a way to help Ezra. She did not want him to lose his childish eyes and his cocky grin to become a robot slave to the Empire.

"There's no antidote," the man chuckled.

"You're lying," Sabine objected, unsure who she was trying to convince.

"Sorry, little girl. But your friend is as good as-" The principal was unable to finish his sentence for Sabine did not agree with what he was going to say. With a punch, he now laid on the ground, unconscious.

Her fury was boiling over. There had to be a way to save him. If she had not taken so long to untie the ropes, if she had just been a few seconds faster, then none of this would be happening.

It was all her fault.

The guilt overwhelmed her.

But Ezra's screams had stopped. And even though her curiosity tried to lure her to see what had happened, even though she knew what she would see.

She could picture it; Ezra lying on the ground, his body pale and his eyes closed; Kanan kneeling beside him looking just as bad; and Zeb, standing there, looking as if a part of him had died with Ezra. No, she could not go into that room.

But she could not just sit here. She had to do something to keep her mind occupied, or else the image of Ezra would return.

Sabine walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>Zeb loved the sound of his Bo-staff igniting. It was the sound of his culture, his home coming back to life with a static shock. It was a part of him.<p>

He smirked, happy at the knowledge that a fight was coming. And his opponent was a teenage boy – with a strong connection to what Kanan had called the dark side. That gave Zeb the advantage in strength, but also a major drawback. He had never fought a force-wielder. But that was not going to stop him from trying.

Zeb and Roth rushed forward. Zeb swung his Bo-staff, but it only hit air. Roth had avoided it, but barely. Roth was off balance, and unable to strike back. Zeb stabbed his Bo-staff at Roth again, but he was able to sidestep the strike.

And now he had gained his balance.

Zeb saw Roth outstretch his hand, and then nothing. He did no longer feel the floor under his feet but he saw the world rushing around him. His body hit the floor, but its momentum did not stop it. Zeb felt his body skid across the floor, and after what felt like ages, it stopped.

Zeb slowly opened his eyes, shaking off the confusion and soreness. He had expected Roth to be standing over him, but he was not. Turning to his side, panic filled him.

Roth stood behind Kanan, who had Ezra in his arms, with a piece of pipe held over his head, ready to deliver his blow.

"Kanan!"

* * *

><p>Kanan had lost his padawan. As he stared into Ezra's eyes, everything around him froze. He had no thoughts of where Zeb and Sabine were. He had no thoughts of how they were going to get out of the school alive. He could only think of Ezra, and his yellow eyes.<p>

Ezra's eyes suddenly became more awake, blinking and looking around before landing on Kanan. Ezra tilted his head, as if confused by the sight.

"Ezra…" That was all that Kanan was able to say before Ezra's eyes widened.

Ezra's yellow eyes flooded from the edges with the color blue. His face grimaced in pain.

"Ka-" Ezra said. Kanan was too shocked to respond. Ezra closed his eyes, his breath quickening.

"Kanan!" Zeb's voice woke him from his daze, and he immediately sensed what was happening. Kanan whipped his head around, his body still supporting Ezra, to see Roth standing over him. But Roth was not looking at him anymore. He was looking at Ezra.

"Aaaahhh!" Ezra cried, and began lashing out. Ezra wriggled his way out of Kanan's hold and onto the floor. Roth, having shaken off his disbelief, took the pipe and pointed it at Kanan. He lifted Kanan's chin up, and aimed for the throat.

"How is this happening?" Roth threatened.

"How is what happening?" Kanan answered, not understanding what Roth had meant.

"How is he resisting it?" Kanan turned to Ezra, who was still lying on the ground in pain. Ezra was…_resisting_ the chemical? "Tell me! No one had been able to stop its effects. How is he _doing_ it? Tell me!" Roth was shouting at the top of his lungs, anger in his eyes. Kanan knew that he had to think of something, and fast. But despite being able to handle most missions and situations on the fly, for once Kanan did not have an answer.

"I- I don't know."

"Yes you do!" Roth shouted. "Don't lie to me. Bridger escaped once, but he won't escape again."

"What are you talking about?" Kanan asked, completely confused by Roth's words. None of them had blown their over. But if this kid did recognize Ezra, which would mean that he had went to the Academy. And Ezra had never said anything about where he went to school when he was younger. Then again, Ezra did not say a lot of things about his past.

"Oh, did Bridger never tell you?" Roth grinned as he looked at Ezra, who twitched on the floor. "I'm not surprised. His short time at school was not the _best_ time of his life. Not to pat myself on the back, but you could say it was filled with unrestricted pain." Roth grinned, the first sign of emotion he had expressed since Kanan had first seen him. He could not be telling the truth, could he? Ezra would have spoken against the plan, or-

But he did speak against it.

And Kanan had made him go anyway.

"Try _this_ for pain, you bully!" Roth turned around at the sound of Zeb's voice, to see his Bo-Staff shock him in the chest. He twitched and dropped the pipe, and soon fell unconscious. Kanan breathed out, the silence comforting to them both.

"Ka- Kana-" Kanan turned back to Ezra, who lied on the ground, his arm outstretched towards him. Kanan looked at him in the eyes, hoping to see bright blue. But what he saw chilled him to the bone.

The center of Ezra's eyes were blue, but on the ridges were pure yellow. And the yellow was seeping into the center.

"Help…me." Ezra's bicolored eyes rolled into the back of his head, his body finally shot from the pain.

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R & R

~ Kavella ~


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